Welcome to the December edition of Probus West. Thank you to the clubs who have supported this publication. We hope you enjoy their stories, and that clubs will continue to contribute to our newsletter.

2016 PAWA ZOO PICNIC

PROBUS WEST PUBLISHED  BY  PROBUS  ASSOCIATION  OF  WA  FOR  MEMBERS  IN  WESTERN  AUSTRALIA  

VOL  7  ISSUE  4  DECEMBER    2016  

The PAWA Zoo picnic was held on the 27th October at the South Perth Zoo. Ninety Probians from nineteen clubs attended the event this year. Special mention must be made of the 20 members of South Bunbury and Bunbury Ladies’ Probus Clubs, who travelled over 150 km to attend.

 Show bags supplied by PAWA and Villa, containing an assortment of goodies had been prepared, and were issued along with entry tickets at the main entrance. We were allocated a position under a large tree where we had our chairs and picnic tables solely for our use. President Elizabeth Hardy welcomed us and thanked Probians for their support A Zoo Docent gave information to us that would help us enjoy our day and Barbara Thomassen, who is a Docent and a member of Thornlie Probus, reinforced this talk. Her assistance again this year is much appreciated.

 Two Zebra cars ferried us around the Zoo– each car carrying a Docent and 7 passengers, and we had a half hour tour. PAWA had pre-booked these cars and were part of the package. These cars proved very popular as they gave an overview of the Zoo, and we could follow up areas of particular interest.

EDITOR:     TRISH  FLOYD,    103A  STOCK  ROAD,  ATTADALE,    WA  6156  

EMAIL  TO:     rpfloyd@westnet.com.au  

Private and Confidential for Probus use only and not to be used for any other purpose

MARCH  2017  EDITION  CLOSES  ON  15TH  FEBRUARY,  2017  

 

MANJIMUP VISIT THE YEAGERUP SAND DUNES

This is a picture of some of the Probus Club of Manjimup’s members, enjoying a day out at Yeagerup Sand Dunes in the D’Entrecastreaux National Park in October. We went in 2 vehicles from Pemberton Discovery Tours and were taken through the forest on gravel tracks and then up on to the Dunes and further on to see the Southern Ocean. This is a beautiful and wild part of our southern coastline.

Members of the Probus Club of Attadale and wives had a most

interesting tour and lunch at the historic Fremantle prison.

 We were privileged to share the day with Puan, the Sumatran Orangutan who was celebrating her 60th birthday. She is the world’s oldest Orangutan. Like most ladies, she was not too impressed with the fuss according to her keepers, and was not being very co-operative! After this photo was taken, she hid in a cardboard box, away from our eyes!!

The day was very social with much chatter among the Probians. Many new friends were made and old friendships renewed. All in all, a great day.

BREAKSEA LADIES TURNS 20 Both our PAWA President Mrs Elizabeth Hardy and Vice President Rex McKell recently visited Albany. The occasion was the presentation of Certificate from PAWA to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Breaksea Ladies Probus Club by Elizabeth followed by the Presentation certificate from PSPL by Graham Kirkwood. A luncheon was held at the LeGrande Restaurant and was well attended. Thank you to Elizabeth and Rex for making the trip down and enjoying some Albany hospitality

GREAT SOUTHERN PAST PRESIDENTS’ LUNCH

The Probus Clubs of the Great Southern had their Past Presidents’ Lunch at the Mean Fiddler restaurant in Albany. A good gathering from clubs attended with half the restaurant taken over by Probians. It was a gathering of not only Probians but friendships which have developed over many years.

PROBUS CLUB OF ATTADALE’S BOB AND NITA CELEBRATE 70 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

Bob and Nita Gregory celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with the heartiest congratulations and signed card from members of the Probus Club of Attadale. Bob joined the club just after its 1982 formation and is a past president. They are only the second couple in the club to have reached their 70thwedding anniversary.

 

 

Following this welcome break, we then toured Chittering Valley to observe some of WA's famous wildflowers in one of the best seasons we have seen lately. The various shades of Blue Leschenaultia were quite striking. We were then taken to Orange Grove Orchard for a complimentary glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and the opportunity to purchase some of their wares. Judging by the number of bags carried on to the coach, this opportunity was well taken advantage of. Then on to The Bindoon Bakery for an enjoyable lunch. On the way home a stop was made at Whistlers Chocolate Factory for more (healthy?) free samples and purchases. A most pleasant way to spend a day. Photos show morning tea at Bell's Rapids, shopping at Orange Grove and lunch at Bindoon.

Merv Peters, our intrepid Functions Officer, selected an absolutely outstanding spring day in October, to engage Club 55 Tours for an outing to the beautiful Chittering Valley. Our affable Coach Captain Chris first took an elite selection of our members and their partners to Bell's Rapids for morning tea. This delightful spot is situated where the Swan and Avon rivers meet and is a popular site from which to observe the annual Avon Descent White Water Race.  

BOORAGOON MEN’S CLUB TOUR THE CHITTERING VALLEY

FREMANTLE VISIT THE VIVISEN RESTAURANT

There were 22 Members and partners attending the lunchtime meal at the Vivisen Restaurant in Point Street Fremantle. Outing Officers Megan and Eric had preselected the Chinese meal from the extensive menu. We received one serve of each of nine dishes of authentic Chinese fare. The menu was in both English and Chinese. Generously we were permitted to bring our own wine and without corkage. It was another great day organized by Megan and Eric.

VICTORIA PARK’S FOOTSLOGGERS VISIT WIRELESS HILL IN

BOORAGOON

FREMANTLE’S MANDURAH RIVER TRIP  

On a beautiful day 25 members and partners found their way to Mandurah by rail or private cars before boarding the boat. The writer holidayed there all of his life except for the 19 years that he lived there after retirement. In January 1937 when he turned 1, he had to give his dummy to the fish and crabs. Since then he has sought retribution on the dummy eaters by catching their progeny!

Photo 1 shows the boat with the high rise behind where once stood the Peninsula Hotel. At weekends it would be overflowing with drinkers. Photo 2 is the Entertainment Centre, which has revolutionized the life of the residents with a vast variety of shows. Many other audience members come from the metro area due to the ease of parking and frequently lower costs. The area was once a swamp and a funfair was on the left.

The Footsloggers had a lovely walk through the excellent display of wildflowers at the historical Wireless Hill Park in October. This was a most enjoyable morning that included coffee at the Dome. This is a great site to visit and to take your visitors to in Perth. A recent newspaper item described the wildflower display at Wireless Hill as equal to that in King’s Park.  

Photo 3 shows the high rise in the centre and the Sebel Mandurah Hotel is to the right.

Photo 4 is a part of Dolphin Quays and has a mix of residential and commercial, including many restaurants, which were very well patronized on the day. The complex has been built in the last 4 years. Dolphin Lagoon was an area dredged many years ago with the original Mandurah Sailing and Fishing Club the main users. In the redevelopment, a new facility was built for the Fishing Club and one of the largest boat shows in Australia is held there each October. The Fishing Club had new premises built at Halls Head. The very popular Council owned Peninsula Caravan Park was a casualty with the land being used for the redevelopment. Virtually all the land is used for retail at ground level and residential above.

Photo 5 shows the first developed commercial part of the Quays. There is a central “market” style area (with the higher roof) with a number of small shops inside. Around the exterior are many restaurants catering for all food styles and equally importantly, for all budgets. It is these restaurants that we frequently visited in our boat. The front part is the eating area for Nino’s fish and chips and our boat took on our lunches there. Each lunch was in a box as shown in Photo 6 and the organization was top class, as our meals were steaming hot and very tasty. Drinks could be purchased on board. The Quays are the home of many services such as the Water Police, Voluntary Water Rescue, Mandurah Fishing Club and hire boats. At the western end is a commercial fishing hub with Australian Rock Lobster being the main income. Residents legally have to expect noise from a working port.

Photo 7 is the War Memorial, which was built adjacent to the old Beam Caravan Park. At dawn on Anzac Day the sun rays are parallel to the concrete risers and the rays illuminate them. The area is modern and has many informative plaques describing the various battles. There are many canal developments near and in Mandurah with the Port Mandurah in Photo 8 being about the best. Parry Developments bought the land from the Sutton Family for the then (the 1950s) huge amount of £1 million Now the average price of the larger home is $2 million. A design requirement is that the bottom story has to be able to be flooded without major damage should the water level rise.

 

It was a wonderful day and was yet another example how the Outing Officers Megan and Eric arrange interesting days for our members.

FREMANTLE PROBUS – PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS WHO DO NOT JOIN

FREMANTLE club has been revitalized since ladies joined in 2014. The first ladies who joined are pictured after their induction. There has been considerable satisfaction at the number of prospective members who came, liked our club and joined. From April 2013 there has been 44 new members inducted into the club. This figure is made up of 28 ladies and 16 men. However from 2014, there have been at least 13 Prospective Members who came to some club meetings but who did not proceed with membership. Of the 13, 12 were ladies and 1 was a man. Some informed Recruiting Officers Glen and Val why they were not joining but some did not turn up again. If a lady commented that they wanted to be in a ladies’ club, Glen and Val would suggest other clubs that may suit them. Our policy has been not to chase up those who quietly fade away.

Of the ladies who gave their reason for not joining, a number found they were needed by family members to assist with babysitting. When they first considered joining the organization they thought that they could regularly attend, but the family circumstances altered. The one man wants to join but is committed to another organization where he is an office bearer. He likes the conduct of Probus and will return when his year of commitment ceases. Earlier, several ladies commented that, “There are a lot of men in the club.” Their observations were accurate for initially going from a men’s club to a combined one meant that men far outnumbered ladies. After the first 6 ladies joining, the percentage was 89.5% men and 10.5% ladies. Currently it is 66.7% men and 33.3% ladies.

MARMION PROBUS CLUB NEWS

Marmion Probus Club members enjoyed a coach trip in September starting with morning tea at Sculpture Park in Mundaring. Then we went on to York for a tour of the historic town and a trip to Mount Brown Lookout. By then everyone was getting hungry, and the coach made its way to Greenhills Inn about 20 kms east of York. Hosts Apryl and Rodney served up a splendid meal, followed by an interesting talk by Apryl on the history of the Inn, which was built in 1906. The previous owners commenced restoration of the Inn and Apryl and Rodney are carrying on this work, as well as running a very busy pub. Some members took advantage of a tour of the upper floor and were impressed by the faithful restoration of the bedrooms. Finally it was time to head back to Perth but not before a stop at Whistlers Chocolate in the Swan Valley for tastings (who could resist) and the extra baggage was evident as we boarded the coach for home.

One of the longest established clubs in West Australia, The Probus Club of

Attadale, enjoyed their anniversary lunch at Baldivis, Perth

Bridge over the River Canning . . . members of the Probus Club of Attadale

enjoy a Walkie-Talkie day out at the Kent Street Weir, Perth

DENMARK AND DENMARK RIVER PROBUS NEWS On October 19th a party of 39 comprising members from Denmark River Probus, Denmark Probus, Over 50’s Club, friends and family, set off for two days of touring, fun, fellowship and friendship. Day one required an early start in Denmark. After collecting the last of our passengers in Kojonup it was on to Quindanning for lunch. After weeks of rain and cold, the sun shone and lunch was enjoyed out under the trees at the Quindanning Hotel. After lunch it was back onto the bus and on to Pinjarra to meet our escort for a tour of Alcoa’s Huntley Mine. The sheer scale of this undertaking is breathtaking and even the most blasé of us found the experience fascinating. From there it was on to our overnight stay at the Atrium Hotel in Mandurah.

BYFORD PROBUS ENJOYED THE ZOO PICNIC What beautiful weather we had for the PAWA Perth Zoo Picnic. We were welcomed at the entry gate by PAWA organisers, who gave us our entry ticket and a bright yellow show bag containing lots of goodies! We met our fellow Probians on the main lawn, which was marked off for the event, under the very welcome shade of two magnificent trees. After the introductions we were divided into groups of eight –being the number of passengers the Zebra cars could manage. The two cars assigned to Probians were kept busy all day giving 30-minute guided tours of the Zoo. The drivers had ‘DOCENT’ on the back of their shirt, this is a new word to me but Latin scholars among you will know what it means! The ABC TV cameras present were not there to talk to us but to record the 60th birthday of the orangutan! In addition to the guided tour we wandered around the Zoo at our leisure. The African Savannah was impressive and adjacent to our picnic location, and several of us were able to enjoy the female elephant talk and enrichment activity, followed later by the talk at the Sun Bear enclosure- both very interesting and entertaining. With the show bag goodies enriching our picnic with crisps, biscuits, all kinds of sweets, apples and bottle of water, a great relaxing time was enjoyed by all.

Day two saw us heading up the highway to the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre for a fabulous two hours exploring the wonderful exhibit - Tutankhamun – His Tomb and His Treasures. Sadly it was all too soon to think of heading home. Along the way we stopped to have picnic lunch in the park at Williams and it was a weary group that arrived back in Denmark at 6pm that evening. The resounding success of this excursion was all due to the tireless planning and organisation by Wally Pederick of the Denmark River Probus Club. Wally, we all thank you.

SOUTH BUNBURY AND BUNBURY LADIES’ DAY VISIT THE ZOO

On Thursday 27 October our group joined a group from South Bunbury Probus, leaving Bunbury very early to travel in a small bus to Perth Zoo. We arrived two hours later and were greeted by Trish Floyd who duly checked us in and gave us a fantastic bag of ‘goodies’ from PAWA in a Villa bag, to help us along during the day. We were so lucky and had a beautiful warm and sunny day. We all found our way to the lovely grassy area where we met many other Probus groups. We all had a seat, and chatted away until Elizabeth Hardy, the PAWA President, who together with an officer from the Zoo, explained what our day would entail. Each group during the day was allocated an eight seater mechanised trailer to take us round the zoo, and of course, we were at liberty to make our own way. So a few of us took off to see all the animals. We were so impressed by the beautiful layout and surroundings, just like seeing all the animals in a park, but of course caged as appropriate; long gone are the cages as we knew them many years ago. We saw so much - African painted dogs, rhinos, baboons, lion, giraffe, elephant, red pandas, apes, otters, tree kangaroos, tortoises, emu, echidna, koala, wallabies, crocodile, so much bird life, and of course the 60 year old orangutan. We finally made our way back to the lawn area where we enjoyed a picnic lunch and chatted to the rest of the group.  

ALBANY LADIES’ AND PORT OF ALBANY LADIES’ ARE WOWED!

"WOW Wilderness Eco Cruise" - The Albany Ladies’ and Port of Albany Ladies’ Probus Clubs combined for a thoroughly enjoyable October outing to a jewel in the southwest, Walpole. Thirty two of us set off under sunny skies on a bus ride to Walpole where we sat under the Peppermint trees for a picnic lunch then ventured down to the pristine waters of the Nornalup Inlet for a serene cruise. Our guide Gary Muir though was the star attraction! A real Aussie larrikin, Gary is an actor, entertainer and has an amazing font of knowledge about anything and everything in ecology, geology, geography, local history and preservation. We all want to know what he's on, his memory is astounding! His home baked cake was also excellent which we enjoyed with coffee at our afternoon stop, a landing platform where we sat and soaked up the afternoon sun and beautiful scenery. It was great fun with the excellent company of one of our sister clubs - a real WOW!

 

MUSIC MAN COMES TO KARRINYUP PROBUS CLUB Barry Arnold is a music man. He has been listening to music for all of his 87 years. He shares his love of music with everyone but it is Probus club members especially that get the full benefit of Barry’s love of music. Barry is an ex-President of the Melbourne Cerberus Probus Club, and has been delivering music programs to that club for a decade. At the invitation of the Karrinyup Probus Club, Barry recently travelled from Melbourne to Perth to share one of his music shows with 30 probians at the Karrinyup Probus Club on Burroughs Road. He also used the occasion to visit his grandson Kane and his wife Sarah, and his great-grandson Finn. Barry has a suite of shows where he acts as a ‘master of ceremonies’: the great romantics, Beethoven to Broadway, music from the movies, greater singers and their songs, down memory lane, music from the war era, cabaret evening and an organ spectacular. For the Karrinyup club, he delivered the ‘Down Memory Lane’ program. Such hits as Charleston, As Time Goes By, Old Man River and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy were shared with the group. The afternoon of music was a great success, with much singing and reminiscing. The Club is hopeful to convince him to visit again next year. As Barry says in the words of Nietzshe ‘Without music, life would be a mistake’. Well done Barry and the Karrinyup Probus Club.

CITY BEACH PROBUS CLUB INC CELEBRATES 30 YEARS CITY BEACH PROBUS CLUB celebrated its 30th Birthday in November. Rex McKell, PAWA Vice President gave a brief presentation as part of the business meeting. Thumbnail sketches were given by three members which proved most interesting and entertaining.

BALDIVIS PROBUS CLUB TURNS ONE!

A Birthday – Open Day was held on Wednesday 12th October to celebrate our 1st Birthday. Eighty nine attendees enjoyed a day of Friendship, Fellowship and Fun at the Peel Estate Winery. As well as most of our club members, we were joined by guests and visitors from PAWA, Shoalwater Ladies Probus Club, Rockingham Combined Probus Club, Mandurah Island Probus Club, U3A, MALA, and Matt Whitfield, Rockingham City Councillor.

The morning started with a meet and greet with morning tea/coffee. This was followed by “The Islanders”, a singing group from the Mandurah Island Probus Club, who were in fine voice, in the beautiful surroundings.

A tour/talk of the Winery was given by owner Will Nairn and everyone had a chance to taste the wine. Lunch was BYO or a Sausage Sizzle, which proved to be very popular as you can see by the queue.

After lunch the cake was cut, and everyone enjoyed the chance to mix and mingle, and again be entertained by “The Islanders”. It was a day of Friendship, Fellowship and Fun, made more so by a beautiful sunny day. Thanks to everyone for making it such a success.

BOORAGOON MEN’S CLUB VISITS THE OLD MILL THEATRE

BYFORD VISITS THE PORONGURUPS

Friendship, Fellowship, Fun and Learning. What a week.

During the third week of October, 15 of our members enjoyed 5 days at the Porongurups, visiting many wineries, bush walking, sampling the pies at the Mount Barker bakery, smelling the flowers, playing the washer game and sitting around an open fire at nights, telling stories and on one occasion, singing that brought back childhood memories. Such memorable nights!

On the second day, a few adventurous souls decided to walk the grade 5 Castle Rock walk. Two of the group (Keith and Frank) are to be congratulated for just doing it. On the walk Keith declined an offer by 3 or 4 attractive young ladies (backpackers) to provide him assistance-The spirit of Probus? “WE CAN DO IT”! Also, on the second day, we all walked the Twin Creek Nature Reserve. A small water crossing did not deter our members. Again Sir Walter Raleigh’s offer to carry Barbara across the water was declined. “WE CAN DO IT”!. The wild flowers of many varieties were out in abundance, and an enjoyable morning was had by all- a few wet feet but no complaints!

On the Wednesday night, a storm came rolling in from the South; with winds, torrential rain and occasional hail. It was cold. A check at 2.00am on Keith and Yvonne’s tent found them OK. Keith did a good job with the tent pegs and stays. Next morning Yvonne said they did not hear a thing and had never slept better for years! Not sure if it was the Porongurup weather or the fellowship and singing the previous night.

Undoubtedly, one of the highlights of our Porongurup's visit was the opportunity to visit a private bushland property. The owners purchased a large parcel of land in the early 1980’s that was about to go under the plough for wheat and canola cropping. His intention was to prevent the destruction of the natural habitat and preserve the wide variety of native plant species on the property. Since then he has bought surrounding blocks of land, which he has rehabilitated, and now has about 800 acres of native bushland containing an amazing variety of plant species.

On 6th November our Functions Officer, Merv Peters, arranged a most pleasant and different afternoon's entertainment. A number of members and partners made their own way to The Old Mill Theatre in South Perth. This is situated in one of the most historic and charming buildings in the area. It was originally opened as The Mechanics Institute Hall in 1899. It first became a home of theatre in 1948 and its current name was first used in 1958. It remains owned by the local Council.

As well as several plays, a concert series called Sunday Serenades are performed six Sunday afternoons a year. The one attended by us was entitled Hits of the War Years and mainly encompassed the well-known music of both World Wars. It was very much a family affair, comprising accomplished performers husband and wife Justin and Katherine Friend, with their 17 year old daughter joining them on stage, and their 14 year old son manning the lighting and audio behind the scenes. The singing, the music and piano accompaniment was beautiful and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Following the concert, afternoon tea was served by the performers, and all for the grand sum of $15 a person. It is a highly recommended outing. The photo shows the Friend family on stage (unfortunately it does not show the expert pianist and the young sound engineer).  

We spent about 3 hours exploring this wonderful property with the owners. They both have an extensive knowledge of the plants found there which they happily shared with us. Many species were flowering and provided a beautiful display comprising every colour of the rainbow. There were many “oohs and aahs” and a large number of photos were taken. We saw everything from Albany banksias to dragon orchids - all in all, an amazing floral display. This was a special experience that won’t soon be forgotten. How fortunate we were, as this was the first tour to ever be conducted on the property and at this point in time, it is not open to the public.

On Thursday night we were spoiled at Happy’s Country Diner in Mount Barker where a variety of meals were ordered and all were of a high quality and quantity.

The organisers are thanked for a great week.

 

EDITOR:     TRISH  FLOYD  

MAIL  TO  :     103A  STOCK  ROAD,  ATTADALE,    WA  6156  

EMAIL  TO:     rpfloyd@westnet.com.au  

Private and Confidential for Probus use only and not to be used for any other purpose

MARCH  2017  EDITION  CLOSES  ON  15TH  FEBRUARY,  2017

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

May the good times and treasures of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow.

Wishing you lots of love, joy and happiness. Merry Christmas to you all! Happy, healthy New Year!